It is not uncommon for boats that are used for scuba diving, snorkeling, and the like to have a platform, ladder or other means for users to get into the water, and back into the boat. In recent years, some boats have come equipped with dive doors, which are simply doors that are generally positioned either in the transom or the side of the boat. The doors remain in the closed position while the watercraft is underway, and are opened when the boat is anchored or drifting. Many such dive doors include attachable ladders, so that divers and snorkelers may easily get into and out of the water.
Previous examples of such dive doors include the following patents, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety:    U.S. Pat. No. 2,558,975—Combined Door and Ladder in the Side of a Craft
The object of this invention is to provide a ladder which may be let down either by persons outside the vehicle, or, if desired, from within, it is also an object to provide a ladder which when not in use can be retracted into the side or bottom of the vehicle in such a manner as to effect a streamlining of the hull of the at the place where the ladder is retracted. This ladder is particularly useful in life boats which are launched without occupants from aircraft to rescue survivors of a ship or air accident floundering in the water and who have been located by air search. The invention is also adapted for installation in large military airliners or bombers having fuselages which are high off the ground, for boarding them in the event that external portable ladders or ramps are not available.    U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,949—Diver's Boarding Ladder
An improved diver's boarding ladder and dive door for a boat having a dive opening. The boarding ladder is positionable between a boarding position and a storage position without having to be removed and stored. In the boarding position, the dive opening is opened and the boarding ladder extends below the waterline to assist swimmers and divers in boarding the boat from the water. In the storage position, the dive door closes the dive opening and the boarding ladder is stored out of the way inside the boat's hull in an inverted position. The hoarding ladder is secured in the dive opening with a hinge that runs along the entire length of the bottom of the dive opening and acts as a chafe plate to prevent damage to the boat's hull from dive equipment.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,101—Boat with Stabilizer Adapted to Serve as a Loading Platform
The hull of a boat includes an opening which is closed by a door attached to the hull with a hinge and capable of limited pivoting motion on the hinge with a substantially horizontal axis of the pivot. In its upright first extreme position the door comprises a part of the hull. In a second folded down extreme position the door is substantially parallel with the water surface and can act as a loading platform and also as a stabilizer against wave action in rough waters.    U.S. Pat. No. 7,438,014—Rigid Inflatable Boat with Easy Lifesaving
A rigid inflatable boat adapted for ease of lifesaving includes an arc-shaped front tube fixedly installed at a front side of a hull and a rear tube slideably installed at a rear side of the hull. A respective sliding rail having a guiding member disposed therein extends longitudinally on an upper surface of the hull at one or both sides thereof The rear tube is slideable forward and backward along the sliding rail due to the operation of the guiding member. A first holding means for detachably supporting a rear end of the arc-shaped tube and a front end of the rear tube is installed between the rear end of the arc-shaped tube and the front end of the rear tube. An open space between a rear end of the arc-shaped front tube and a front end of the rear tube provides ease of lifesaving.    U.S. Pat. No. 8,800,470—Dive Door for Rigid Inflatable Boats
A dive door for an inflatable boat configured as a semi-cylindrical body having a planar platform surface and an outer curved surface. The door is hingeably attached to the deck of the boat and is disposed between a first gunwale tubing section and a second gunwale tubing section of the boat. The dive door is selectively operable between a deployed position and a closed position. In the deployed position, the planar platform surface extends outwardly from the boat and the outer curved surface faces downward toward the water. A hydraulic ram may be attached to and disposed between the platform surface and a rigid structure of the boat, whereby the hydraulic ram is translates the door between the deployed position and the closed position. In the closed position, the outer curved surface is coincident with the gunwale tubing such that it appears that the door is integrated into the boat.    U.S. Pat. No. 9,120,540—Marine Vessel Dive Patio
A dive door for a marine vessel comprising a planar body having an interior surface and an exterior surface. The door is disposed between the gunwale of the boat and is hingeably attached to the deck of the boat. The door is releasably retained to the gunwale by one or more latches disposed at a top edge of the dive door. One or more gas shocks are attached to the door and the boat such that the dive door is selectively operable between a deployed position and a closed position. When deployed, the interior surface of the dive door extends outwardly from the boat. In the closed position, the outer surface of the dive door is matches the profile of the gunwale, providing a sleek integrated look. A ladder may hinged to the dive door and is configured to extend downward.
However, each of the above-referenced assemblies suffers from disadvantages. It would be desirable to provide a dive door and ladder assembly, wherein the dive door forms a step or platform when in the open position, and wherein a compartment below the door may house a collapsible ladder that may be extended over the side of the boat beneath the doorway. Such an assembly allows the ladder to be stowed away in a hidden compartment when the diver door is in the closed position, and also offers a platform, raised slightly from the deck of the boat, for divers, snorkelers and the like to enter and exit the boat.